Parametric model of spectral envelope to synthesize realistic intensity variations in singing voice

2014 IEEE International Conference on Acoustic, Speech and Signal Processing (ICASSP), pp. 634 - 638In this paper, we propose a method to synthesize the natural variations of spectral envelope as intensity varies in singing voice. To this end, we propose a parametric model of spectral envelope based on novel 4-pole resonators as formant filters. This model has been used to analyse 60 vowels sung at different intensities in order to define a set of functions describing the global variations of parameters along intensity. These functions have been used to modify the intensity of 16 recorded vowels and 8 synthetic vowels generated with Vocaloid. The realism of the transformations performed with our approach has been evaluated by four amateurmusicians in comparison to Melodyne for real sounds and to Vocaloid for synthetic sounds. The proposed approach has been proved to achieve more realistic sounds than Melodyne and Vocaloid, especially for loud-to-weak transformations.This work has been funded by the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad of the Spanish Government under Project No. TIN2010-21089-C03- 02 and Project No. IPT-2011-0885-430000, by the Junta de Andaluc´ıa under Project No. P11-TIC-7154 and by the Ministerio de Educaci ón, Cultura y Deporte through the ‘Programa Nacional de Movilidad de Recursos Humanos del Plan Nacional de I-D+i 2008-2011, prorrogado por Acuerdo de Consejo de Ministros de 7 de octubre de 2011’. The work has been done in the context of Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech, Universidad de Málaga

The importance of F0 tracking in query-by-singing-humming

In this paper, we present a comparative study of several state-of-the-art F0 trackers applied to the context of query-by-singing-humming (QBSH). This study has been carried out using the well known, freely available, MIR-QBSH dataset in different conditions of added pub-style noise and smartphone-style distortion. For audio-to-MIDI melodic matching, we have used two state-of-the-art systems and a simple, easily reproducible baseline method. For the evaluation, we measured the QBSH performance for 189 different combinations of F0 tracker, noise/distortion conditions and matcher. Additionally, the overall accuracy of the F0 transcriptions (as defined in MIREX) was also measured. In the results, we found that F0 tracking overall accuracy correlates with QBSH performance, but it does not totally measure the suitability of a pitch vector for QBSH. In addition, we also found clear differences in robustness to F0 transcription errors between different matchers.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech. This work has been funded by the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad of the Spanish Government under Project No. TIN2013-47276-C6-2-R and by the Junta de Andalucía under Project No. P11-TIC-7154

Frequency-dependence characterization of electromagnetic reverberation in indoor scenarios based on 1-40 GHz channel measurements

A novel model for the reverberation time is proposed in this letter, based on room electromagnetics theory. While the commonly used models consider absorption based on a constant rate of wall interactions within a given time, the proposed model takes the variance of interactions into account. Moreover, the frequency dependence of electromagnetic reverberation characteristics in indoor environments is experimentally investigated from 1 to 40 GHz. The reverberation time is found to be a decreasing function of frequency. A model is then developed to predict the room & x0027;s quality factor, reverberation time, and average absorption coefficient. Good agreement is obtained with the limited results reported in the literature for similar scenarios. This approach aims to be an accurate alternative to the reverberation time measurements and computations in indoor environments by linking it to the theory of electromagnetic fields in cavities

Indoor wireless communications and applications

Chapter 3 addresses challenges in radio link and system design in indoor scenarios. Given the fact that most human activities take place in indoor environments, the need for supporting ubiquitous indoor data connectivity and location/tracking service becomes even more important than in the previous decades. Specific technical challenges addressed in this section are(i), modelling complex indoor radio channels for effective antenna deployment, (ii), potential of millimeter-wave (mm-wave) radios for supporting higher data rates, and (iii), feasible indoor localisation and tracking techniques, which are summarised in three dedicated sections of this chapter

Informational Literacy And Information And Communication Technologies Use By Secondary Education Students In Spain: A Descriptive Study

Informational literacy and the use of technologies by Secondary Education students in Spain: A descriptive study. The development of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), together with their application to research carried out on educational areas, are factors which contribute to the promotion of a new educative model constructed on literacy-based competences and skills, and which sets technologies as essential tools for a life-long learning process (Unesco, 2005). This is the framework where we can insert the research that we are currently carrying out, funded by the research Program I+D+I of the Spanish Ministry of Education, and in the frame of which we are developing a diagnostic assessment of informational literacy competence in students between 14 and 16 years (Secondary Education), based on the fact that one of the main aspects in knowledge generation and acquisition is the capacity to use information extracted from documents and electronic resources, available in informational networks in a correct way. In this paper we present the results obtained from evidences on the contrast existing between the level of use of technologies (videogames, social networks...) and the level of informational literacy shown by students. The data were gathered from a sample of more than 1000 Secondary Education students who are around 15 years old

The role of heart rate on the associations between body composition and heart rate variability in children with overweight/obesity : the ActiveBrains project

Background: Heart rate variability (HRV) is negatively associated with body mass index and adiposity in several populations. However, less information is available about this association in children with overweight and obesity, especially severe/morbid obesity, taking into consideration the dependence of HRV on heart rate (HR). Objectives: (1) to examine associations between body composition measures and HRV, (2) to study differences in HRV between children with overweight and severe/morbid obesity; and (3) to test whether relationships and differences tested in objectives 1 and 2, respectively are explained by the dependency of HRV on HR. Methods: A total of 107 children with overweight/obesity (58% boys, 10.03 +/- 1.13 years) participated in this study. Body composition measures were evaluated by Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). HRV parameters were measured with Polar RS800CXR (R). Results: Body composition measures were negatively associated with HRV indicators of parasympathetic activity (beta values ranging from -0.207 to -0.307, all p 0.05). Conclusion: All associations between adiposity/obesity and HRV could be explained by HR, suggesting a key confounding role of HR in HRV studies in children with weight disturbances

MIMO in tunnel : impact of polarization and array orientation on the channel characteristics

Polarimetric characteristics of the propagation channel in a straight tunnel and in a frequency band around 1.3 GHz, are deduced from measurements using a real-time MIMO channel sounder. Emphasis is on the cross-polarization discrimination factor and, for a MIMO configuration, on the correlation between transmitting and receiving array elements, depending on the array orientation and on the polarization of the transmitting elements

3-Phase Rectifier System with very demanding dynamic load: Architecture analysis and control strategy

A distributed power architecture for aerospace application with very restrictive specifications is analyzed. Parameters as volume, weight and losses are analyzed for the considered power architectures. In order to protect the 3 phase generator against high load steps, an intermediate bus (based in a high capacitance) to provide energy to the loads during the high load steps is included. Prototypes of the selected architecture for the rectifier and EMI filter are built and the energy control is validated